Sunday, June 9, 2013

Rafael Nadal's mastery at the French Open may be the greatest in pro sports history

In 1985-'86 the Celtics finished the season with a record of 50-1 at the Boston Garden. They captured the NBA title while establishing a gold standard for home dominance in professional sports. Today Rafael Nadal won the French Open by improving his career record at Roland Garros to 59-1. Here's the list of French champions dating back to 2005: Nadal, Nadal, Nadal, Nadal, Roger Federer, Nadal, Nadal, Nadal, Nadal. He's the first man to ever win a single Grand Slam tournament 8 times. It's also Nadal's 12th Slam title overall; putting him tied for 3rd all-time (with Roy Emerson) behind Pete Sampras (14) and Federer (17). Sampras won his last major championship at the age of 31. Federer is 31 right now. Nadal just turned 27 last week.